Heavenly Minded - Tuesdays with Timothy

1 Timothy 6:12  “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called…” Do you ever think about eternity? You have a soul and when you die, your soul is going somewhere. Considering eternity would be worth your limited time on Earth. Thinking about eternity doesn’t appeal to us because we have to think about death. The world, the flesh, and the Devil say “Live for today! Live for the pleasures of this life. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!” The idea is because death is unpleasant don’t think about it and live for today while we have it. But it is wisdom to think and live for eternity (endless ages), not for a few years.

If Jesus has saved your soul, lay hold of eternal life by faith. Paul isn’t talking about grasping Heaven by works. Laying hold of eternal life is a frame of heart in the life and walk of the Christian who is called to eternal life. Think and live with eternal life in mind. Wouldn’t you expect someone who is called to eternal joy and bliss to live like it now? Some profess to know Christ, but devote all time and energy to their earthly calling and seem to never give Jesus Christ and His kingdom and their Heavenly calling a second thought. Penny wise and pound foolish.

We have been called from a city of destruction to a “land that is fairer than day”.  God called His elect out of a life of sin and death, to a life of faith and light on our pilgrimage to our Heavenly home. Imagine a city (John Bunyan called it Vanity Fair) full of worldliness, the love of money, sorrows and sin; the home of the children of wrath and disobedience. The outskirts of this metropolis are lined with wounded men (I Timothy 6:10)  pierced through with the deadly arrows of covetousness and heresy, having tried to live on the border of the city with one foot in each camp. They liked the idea of eternal life, but loved what this world offered to much to leave it behind. Timothy was called to break camp in this city of worldliness and sin and head to a city whose builder and maker is God. He walked away, ignoring the calls to stay put and continue in worldly pleasures, instead, setting his eyes on the blessed city of the glorious King. His heart and mind is fixed on the King and fair Zion’s heavenly rest. With his kingdom citizenship on his heart he goes clad in the Spirit's armor and the Sword of the Spirit in his hand; laying hold on his Heavenly home and eternal life through “many dangers, toils, and snares”. Missionary Jim Elliot wrote,  "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Are you laying hold of what you cannot lose or what you cannot keep?

Man Up

The Old Testament is full of accounts of courage and manly valor. Men strengthened by the Lord, risking life and limb for His glory. One such tale of heroism is in the book of II Samuel 10. The king of the Ammonites died, and David sent servants to console the newly crowned king, because his departed father was loyal to David. Some of the new king’s advisors said that David’s intentions were impure, and David came to spy on the kingdom after the death his father. In a preemptive strike, they, shaved off half their beards of David’s men, and cut their garments down to their hips. This was a serious act of disrespect, and the men were very ashamed. David advised them to stay in Jericho until their beards grew back. When the Ammonites saw that they had disrespected David and considered the now inevitable consequences, they hired 33,000 mercenaries to go to war with Israel. After David heard that the Ammonites were preparing their march to war, he sent his mighty men of valor, led by Joab, to meet the coming tide of the enemy. The Ammonites engaged Joab from the front and the mercenaries closed in behind, and just like that, Israel was surrounded. II Samuel 10:9-13 says “when Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother...And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good. And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him.” These faithful men of God, stood up, and played the man for their Lord. Christian men, let us play the men for our people, and for our families. Let us not cower at the presence of spiritual enemies, but stand and fight. Men of action and men of prayer, are needed this hour! Urgency, my dear brothers, for we do not have time to sit idly by as others do; knowing the time, “it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Be of good courage, for if God is for us, who can be against us?  What temptation is there that we cannot conqueror with God on our side?  What sin is there that we cannot defeat with our mighty God for us?  We are not conquerors over our enemy; we are MORE than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Arise and to the work our God!

Valley of the Shadow of Death

Psalm 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. The Shadow of Death is a phrase used in 19 different verses. Many of the passages refer to death. But as we see from God’s Word, the passage is not limited to death. Job didn’t die, though he felt as though he would and was wishing that he would die. So, as the shadow of death was upon his eyes, Job was still at least 140 years away from death. A fear of death, a fear of the unknown and despondency of soul to the point of wishing for death. It is a dark, dark place of the soul.

I imagine a sheep and the shepherd forced to trek through a dangerous passage way. Sometimes the shepherd had to move the sheep to different grounds, better feed, better water and the way was through a dangerous place.  There isn’t a short cut to higher ground. From the outset, I want you to know, that if you are Christ’s, if you belong to Him, if you are trusting in Him for the salvation of your soul, then He is the Good Shepherd and He will not lead you astray. However, as the scripture declares, without Christ, you dwell in the shadow of death. You have never tasted the still water nor rested in the green pastures.

For the Christian, for God’s sheep, we walk THROUGH the dark valley, we don’t live there. There is a danger to the valley – a danger that we keep our eyes off of Christ. The passage is a sweet trusting passage to be sure, there is a danger that comes in that place if we take our eyes off of Christ. I want to encourage you, that when in the valley, to keep your eyes on Christ. First we will look at the dangers of NOT keeping your eyes on Christ, then the blessings.

The valley is short sided. On the mountain top you can see forever. You can see ahead of you and you can see behind. You can see the past for what it was and the future for what it is. You can see you progress and your ascent that God has brought you and you can view you present life in the context of the blessed future. But life is short sided in the dark valley and that is why it is so miserable. No, it shouldn’t be, but it a awful reality for some overcome with grief and despair.

That last enemy, death has been defeated by the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Death, who casts that dark shadow, has been defeated in Christ. The Shepherd, who died for his people, rose again to lead His sheep safely through. Remember, there is nothing in that dark valley that can separate you from the Shepherd and he'll never let His people go.

Flee, Follow, and Fight - Tuesday with Timothy

1 Timothy 6:11-12  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

 Years ago, a friend told me about the 360° change they made in their life. Knowing their sincerity was greater than their mathematical ability,  I took this as good news. The degree you turn your life around does matter. Running from something bad  is wonderful, but only if you are running in the right direction. Repentance is more than hating sin, but turning from sin to Christ. I Timothy 6: 11-12 says “ … flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called…” Paul’s describes here the Christian life when a person is born again and trusts in Christ. Flee. Follow. Fight.

We need to flee unrighteousness. To follow Christ, we first must flee sin and unrighteousness. The breaking of the commandments of our God should grieve our souls as we "go and sin no more". The person who thinks that salvation is saying a prayer or getting baptized to get all their paperwork in order to get to Heaven is sadly mistaken. You repent, receive Christ and turn to follow after Him. We leave behind our self-righteousness, our hope of Heaven through good works, the ungodly sins and iniquity in our hearts to follow Jesus. Christians are in pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith and love. The Christian follows the path of patience and lives in this wicked world with a meek and quiet spirit, humbly in submission to God and His Word.

The meek and humble path of the Christian is one of spiritual battle. We don’t struggle for our self-interests, or for political ideologies. Our war is an offensive battle for the faith once delivered. We fight the good fight of faith for the glory of God. It is a good fight because it is for the blessing of men. It is good because it is a fight for truth and righteousness. Turning from sin and fleeing to Christ, we press on in this pilgrim journey with our eye on Heaven. We are called to the Heavenly City and are on our journey to its gates. There are many perils on the way; we face temptation, sin, evil, false teachings, doctrines of devils and the Dragon himself; but we have to take heart, be stalwart with Spirit-filled courage and press on in the Christian life. We herald the good news that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. With the shield of faith, sword of the Spirit, and the helmet of salvation, we go to spiritual war with the works of unrighteousness. We tear down the Devil’s strongholds, not with carnal weapons, but with the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. With our eyes on Christ we press on in the way he has made for us, leaving our sin and bidding others to follow to life everlasting. Flee sin, follow Christ, and fight the good fight.

Too Much Dessert

Proverbs 25:27  "It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory." Perhaps we should have studied our proverb before Thanksgiving dinner, not two weeks after. Or, for the optimist, I’m not late, but 50 weeks early for next year. I love Thanksgiving food and all the desserts. But we couldn’t have a Thanksgiving feast every day of the year; it's too much of a good thing. Solomon didn’t have pecan pie, but his dessert was honey, God’s natural sugary sweet. Even though honey is delicious and one spoonful is good, it may seem to make sense to say a second would better, it’s not good to eat too much. You may feel good while you eat it, but eat too much and you’ll regret it and make yourself sick. You may enjoy it while you are eating it, but it’s not good for your health to tear into a honeycomb like a hungry bear and devour a few quarts a day because you’ll soon outweigh the bear.

When someone thanks you or praises you for a job well done, it feels good and it's encouraging and satisfying to be appreciated. But like overeating sweets, seeking the praise of men is not good for you. It’s a danger to your soul. When you live for your own glory you are not seeking God’s glory. You’ve turned yourself into an idol. The glory you get for yourself when you go looking for it is not glory at all.

Seeking your own glory is not good because you begin to live in the fear of man, not the fear of God. Fearing man is not being afraid of man anymore than fearing God is being afraid of God. Fearing man reverences  and honors the opinions of people and lives for their approval. You regulate your life according to what others think, not what God thinks. Several priests believed in Jesus but wouldn’t confess him openly because they loved the praise of men. They did not do the right thing and knowingly did the wrong thing because they loved and sought their own glory (John 12:42-43 ).

If you want to boast and glory, glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). Like the taste buds were made to taste, man is made to have something to glory in. The problem is not glorying or even boasting but the object of our worship.  Seeking the praise of men for yourself is not good for the soul, even if it feels good at the time. Focus your praise on the Lord Jesus and glory in him. Seek out his greatness. Track out his perfections and praise them. Boast in what Christ has done in saving you from sin. Glory in what Christ is doing as your High Priest. Exult in what Christ will do when He comes again. And unlike honey and pecan pie, you can eat as much of the glory of God as you desire.